Redbirds’ league woes continue; DePaul beaten

Buckeyes bounce back

By The Associated Press

By The Associated Press

Deshaun Thomas scored 22 points to lead No. 15 Ohio State to a 74-64 victory over Purdue on Tuesday night in West Lafayette, Ind.

The angry Buckeyes (12-3, 2-1) rebounded from their first Big Ten loss by shooting 56.4 percent from the field. They took a 10-point halftime lead despite losing point guard Aaron Craft for all but 4:19 of the first half because of early foul trouble. Buckeyes coach Thad Matta got his 100th Big Ten victory.

Ohio State has won four of the last five in this series and eight of their last 10 overall.

Purdue (7-8, 1-2) has lost two straight to Top 20 teams since upsetting No. 11 Illinois last week. The Boilermakers were led by the Johnson brothers, Terone, who had 18 points, and Ronnie, who had 11 points, six rebounds and seven assists. A.J. Hammons finished with 13 points and eight rebounds.

But the Boilermakers never seriously challenged Ohio State after the Buckeyes took control with 13-2 and 9-0 runs in the first half.

The Huskies opened up a 20-point halftime lead, and DePaul (10-6, 1-2) could get no closer than 12 in the second half.

Brandon Young led all scorers with career-high 35 points for the Blue Demons and Cleveland Melvin chipped in 18.

Missouri St. 62, Illinois St. 55: Anthony Downing scored 24 points and Missouri State defeated Illinois State in Springfield, Mo.

Marcus Marshall had 14 points for the Bears (5-11, 3-1 Missouri Valley), who shot 54 percent from the field in the first half in building a 32-25 halftime lead. Missouri State finished the game at 47 percent.

Jackie Carmichael led Illinois State (9-7, 0-4) with 21 points and 12 rebounds.

Johnny Hill had 14 points. Jon Ekey scored eight points but no other player had more than four points for the Redbirds, who had won four straight before entering MVC play.